Blaze of Glory
by TJCluedo
Summary: Dr Sam Beckett has leaped into Lyle Carrington a twenty-something trainee fire fighter, but there's a problem. Al says Ziggy can't figure out why Sam is there. Is he trying to make sure Lyle completes his training? Is keeping Lyle and his girlfriend together the plan? Could he be there to save the life of another trainee? Or could it be something more pressing?
1. Chapter 1

_Theorizing that one can time travel within his own lifetime, Dr Sam Beckett stepped into the Quantum Leap accelerator and vanished. He awoke to find himself trapped in the past, facing mirror images that were not his own and driven by an unknown force to change history for the better. His only guide on this journey is Al, an observer from his own time who appears in the form of a hologram that only Sam can see and hear. And so Dr Beckett finds himself leaping from life to life striving to put right what once went wrong and hoping each time that his next leap will be the leap home._

'Is it really that simple, Al?' asked Dr Sam Beckett pulling on the knotted handkerchief tied around his neck. He felt so uncomfortable dressed in a scout uniform; not as uncomfortable as being dressed as a woman (which he had on many occasions) but uncomfortable all the same.

'Ziggy says there's a ninety-seven point five percent chance that you help that old lady across the street and you'll leap.'

Admiral Al Calivicci, the project Quantum Leap observer, struck the flashing handset with the palm of his hand a couple of times; the handset squealed with each strike. He didn't mind calling the woman old because she couldn't hear him anyway. This had nothing to do with her age. Al wasn't present in that time. He was decades in the future standing in a holo-imaging chamber and it was his hologram that was present. The only person who could see or hear Al was Sam...and animals...and children...and the near departed...and the mentally disturbed.

'It all seems too easy.'

'Look, Sam, what's the worst that can happen? You do a good deed for the day and then we run a few new scenarios through Ziggy.'

Sam took a deep breath and walked over to the woman who was readying herself to cross the street. Just as she was about to step forward he took her arm and pulled her back. A car came screeching around the corner and sped off up the street. If he had let her cross then she would have been hit by the car.

'There you are,' said Al peering at his handset. 'That car would have killed her and drove off. You did it, Sam.'

'Then I should leap any second,' said Sam.

'You want to leap into the road,' asked the old woman thinking Sam was addressing her.

'No Ma'am. I was talking to...my friend.'

'What friend?'

'Imaginary friend,' said Sam slowly knowing it sounded ridiculous.

'Bit old to have imaginary friends aren't you, Dear?'

'You won't leap until you've got her safely across the street,' said Al. 'Ziggy's ninety-nine point nine percent on that.'

'Would you like me to help you across the street, Ma'am?'

'Oh, that is kind of you, Dear.'

Sam took hold of her arm once more and guided her across the busy street to the other side. The woman was so grateful that she took a quarter from her purse and pressed it into Sam's hand.

'There's really no need...'

Before he could finish the sentence he was encapsulated in a flash of blue and white light. Dr Sam Beckett had leaped.

...

The first few seconds of a leap were the most disturbing. There was never a guarantee that the situation Sam found himself in was safe or even one he could grasp the understanding of in the split second it took to realize that he was no longer the person he had just leaped out of. In this instance he knew one thing for sure: he didn't like heights. He found himself standing on a ladder that was slowly moving upwards toward a window that was billowing smoke. As he turned his eyes to the street below he had no illusions as to the occupation of his latest host. What seemed like miles below him attached to the bottom of the ladder was a fire engine. He was a fireman on a ladder and Sam didn't like heights. As the ladder juddered to a halt he could see the faint outline of a person in the room with the smoke. It was woman holding something wrapped in a blanket. The woman screamed something at him and ran towards the window, swinging it wide open almost knocking him from the ladder. It would have been hard to do since he was gripping it for dear life. As the smoke swirled around him and the fire roared ferociously all he could hear was the woman screaming 'help' and 'baby'. Before he could react she threw the bundle at him. He let go of the ladder with one hand and tried to catch the bundle as a baseball player would catch a baseball in a mitt. The bundle glanced off the tip of his fingers and fell to the ground below.

 _Oh God_ , thought Sam

Blaze of Glory

July 26 1962

The last thing Sam expected to hear was laughter. The woman in the room was almost bent double trying to control her fits of hysterics. This was a bizarre reaction since her baby had just fallen fifty feet, maybe more, to its death. It was the loud cheers from below that made him realize that he had probably been the butt of some cruel prank. One man by the fire engine was waving what Sam supposed was a doll that he had been a stunt double for a baby.

'I'm sorry, Lyle,' said the woman wiping tears from her eyes. 'As we tried to explain you must be prepared for any eventuality.'

'That wasn't funny,' replied Sam. 'I could have fallen and broke my neck or worse.'

'You're still hooked onto the ladder, Lyle. If you had fallen it would have been about two feet at the most.'

Sam looked at the belt he was wearing with a hook that was latched onto the ladder. Obviously this little fact wasn't known to him when he first arrived so of course he was going to panic. He decided that he best look on the brighter side of the joke and play along until Al could catch up with him and let him know what he was here to do. As the ladder began to descend the woman called out once more.

'I'll make it up to you, Lyle. First drink is on me tonight.'

...

Even when the ladder had ceased its decent Sam still had his arms locked through the rungs, the belt and hook hadn't alleviated his anxiety. Opening one eye he found the group of firemen looking at him with what could only be described as astonished frowns. They had seen Lyle shimmy up and down ladders for weeks and couldn't figure out why he seemed so troubled by heights now. What they didn't know was that Lyle was sitting in the waiting room at project Quantum Leap nearly forty years into the future. The fire chief stood with his arms folded eyeing this terrified boy.

'Are you planning on coming down today, Carrington?' bellowed the Chief.

'Right away,' said Sam hurriedly unhooking the belt.

'Since when have you been afraid of heights?'

 _Since someone, or something, decided I would leap onto the top of a fifty foot ladder_ , thought Sam relieved that he had two feet back on firm ground.

'How do you expect to make it as a fire fighter if you can't handle heights?'

'I'm sorry, Sir,' said Sam, trying to think up a good excuse for someone suddenly changing their personality. 'I haven't been feeling too well the last couple of days and I think it's affecting my balance or something. That was probably why I felt a little light headed up there.'

Sam looked up at the window he had been thrust towards and shivered, even looking at it from the ground made him feel nauseous. It was then he heard a familiar voice beside him.

'We need to talk, Sam.'

'Al...'

'Are you sure you're ok?' asked the Chief.

'Maybe I should sit down for a while and it might pass.'

'Don't be too long about it, Carrington,' said the Chief, gruffly. 'We have more exercises this afternoon.'

'I won't be long, Sir,' said Sam heading for the fire truck and propping himself into one of the backseats. 'What's going on, Al? I can't be a fire fighter; you know I'm no good with heights.'

'That's the least of your worries right now, Sam.'

'What do you mean?'

'I mean we have a major problem. Ziggy can't find out why you're here.'

'That's hardly a major problem, Al. Get Ziggy to run some probabilities and she'll come up with something.'

'She already came up with something.'

'So what's the problem? Tell me why Ziggy thinks I'm here.'

'Ok, Sam, I'll tell you what Ziggy has come up with, but don't shoot the messenger here.'

Al tapped some buttons on the handset. 'Your name is...'

'Lyle Carrington,' said Sam.

'Do you want to hear this or not? You're a trainee fire fighter in New York City. Ziggy says that in two days that young guy over there is going to die in a fire.'

Sam looked over at the guy in question. He couldn't have been more than twenty years old. As Sam watched him the guy suddenly looked over and gave a cheerful wave. Sam waved back.

'He's a trainee, Al. Surely he wouldn't be sent on a real call before he's finished his training.'

'All I know is what Ziggy says, and she says that in two days that guy, Tony Gallo, is going to die in a fire.'

'I don't understand what the problem is, Al. Obviously I'm here to keep him alive.'

'Maybe,' said Al, pressing more buttons.

'Maybe? What does that mean?'

'Lyle never made it through training. He flunked out as a fire fighter and ended up taking one dead end job after another. He turned to drink and drugs and ended up dying at the age of thirty-eight from an overdose.'

'So I'm here to make sure Lyle gets through training?'

'Maybe,' said Al again.

'Well, what is it Al? Am I here to save Tony or get Lyle through training?'

'You remember that woman up in the burning tower?'

'Yeah, the one who nearly sent me falling to my death,' Sam shuddered at the memory.

'She and Lyle used to be an item until he flunked out of training. The big Chief over there is her father and he will only let his daughter date fire fighters, something to do with them being the bravest or something, bet there were no naval men in that family.'

'What happened to her?'

'Annabelle Carson never got over the loss of Lyle and shut herself away from the world. She was admitted to a sanatorium for a few years and when she was released kidnapped a baby.'

'Why would she do something like that?'

'The transcripts from her trial state that she knew she would never have any of her own so to be a mother she had to take one. Annabelle died in prison during a mass riot. You see why there's a problem? Ziggy can't figure out who you are here to save: Lyle, Tony or Annabelle.'

Sam put his head in his hands, 'Oh, Boy.'


	2. Chapter 2

'It makes a change for me to find saving a life easier than passing a test. All I have to do is stop Tony from going on any calls and that should stop him from being killed in the fire, but having to make sure Lyle passes his fire fighter training will be a little more complicated since I don't like heights.'

'Do you remember when you were on the trapeze and you never thought that you would save Eva's life; not only did you save her life, but you climbed up onto that trapeze because you knew you had to. It's going to be the same this time...I hope.'

'This is not the same, Al,' said Sam, taking another look at the smoking building used for training. 'I didn't have fire, smoke and flying dolls to contend with on the trapeze.'

'Well, on a happier note, keeping an eye on Tony might be as easy as you think,' said Al, tapping his handlink. 'It would seem he is your roommate here at the training facility. All you have to do is keep an eye on him and you'll be home free on that front.'

'But what about...?'

'Sam, I'm going to see if we can come up with anything that will help you pass this training course, but you have to make sure you do as the chief tells you. One wrong foot and it could be sayonara to Lyles career and Annabelle's sanity.'

With a loud whoosh the holo-imaging chamber door flashed up behind Al. He stepped back into the white light and was just about to close the door when Sam continued.

'One wrong foot and I could fall to my death, Al.'

'Don't worry, Sam, we'll see what we can do.'

With that the white light flashed away leaving Dr Sam Beckett wondering how he was going to complete this leap and stay alive in the process.

'Penny for your thoughts,' said the young girl Sam had seen in the burning room. 'I hope I didn't scare you that much, Lyle.'

Sam looked up into her sorrowful eyes, 'No. You didn't really. Like I told the chief, I've not been feeling too well lately; probably just need a good rest and I will bounce back in no time.'

'You're not thinking of resting tonight? We have that meeting with Sister Mary Angela about the charity event later.'

Sam had to play along, 'Oh, yeah, the charity event. I suppose I had better come with you for that.'

'You're the one who insisted on our firehouse organizing it. Did you ask daddy about Old Betsy?'

'Old Betsy?'

'The vintage fire truck, you said you wanted it for the kids to play on and let them try the bells and horn. You really are under the weather, aren't?'

'Look, I'm going to lay my head down for a while. What time are we meeting with Sister Mary Angela?'

'Seven-thirty, that's if you can make it.'

'I'll be there,' said Sam, realizing that he had forgotten one simple thing. 'Exactly where are we meeting her?'

Annabelle looked affectionately at Sam and held her hand to his forehead. 'I'll drive us tonight. I don't think you should be driving in this state.'

...

'So I say to the chief that if he keeps riding me the way he is, then I'm outta here and he goes and loses his best cadet...after you of course.'

Tony Gallo playfully punched Sam in the arm. They had returned to their dormitory to prepare for the afternoons exercises. Sam sat down on one of the beds and fell back exhausted. He was just getting comfortable when Tony almost pushed him off the side of the bed.

'Hey, I thought we agreed I get the one by the window.'

'Oh, yeah, sorry about that,' said Sam, moving to the other bed.

'You not been yourself today, Lyle. You got something on your mind?'

 _I have plenty on my mind_ , thought Sam, _like finding a way to keep you alive_.

'Anyways, the chief knows that he won't get a better cadet than me, so I'm thinking he'll be sweet as pie to me from now on.'

'I wouldn't count on that, Mr Gallo.'

Sam and Tony turned to find Chief Carson standing at the open dormitory door; he did not look in the best of moods. He stepped inside and closed the door.

'You overlook one thing, I am the Chief of this firehouse and you are nothing here. If I want to ride you, I will; if I want to have you scrub out the latrines, I will; and by god, if I want you out of this training process, I will.'

For a moment Tony was frozen on the spot. He looked at the chief like a child who had reprimanded for flushing cherry bombs. Then his demeanour changed like the flick of a switch. His face was now contorted into a scowl and his fists were clenched in tight, white balls at his sides.

'You think you can talk to me however you want, don't ya?'

'I will address you however I wish, Mr Gallo. Until your training is complete, you are mine to mould into a brave fire fighter.'

'Brave fire fighter? You sound like a broken record, Carson.'

'That's Chief Carson to you, boy.'

'Look, maybe we should calm down and,' Sam was cut off midsentence.

'Shut up, Carrington, or you will be going with your friend here.'

'Where do you think I'm going?' asked Tony, taking a couple of threatening steps towards the chief.

'Home, Mr Gallo, home. You are out; finished, terminated...your time here is over. Now, get out and don't come crawling back. I only take on the best here and you would never have measured up to my men.'

Tony grabbed his jacket from a nearby chair and stormed out of the room. Sam was about to follow when the chief gave a warning look.

'I don't need you,' shouted Tony, as he marched down the corridor. 'I don't need anyone.'

'If you wish to continue on here, Mr Carrington, I expect you to take instruction and carry out your duties in a professional manner. Do you understand me? Just because you are dating my daughter, doesn't mean I won't throw you out too. Am I understood?'

'Yes, Chief Carson. I understand perfectly.'

Without another word the chief turned to leave, knowing that he had won the exchange with his cadets. Sam followed behind down the corridor.

'Chief, there was one thing I wanted to ask you.'

'I don't have time, Carrington,' blasted the chief, turning to the stairs.

'I wondered if I could ask you about _Old Betsy_.'

The chief stopped dead in his tracks and turned back to look at Sam with a blank expression. He was unsure whether the statement had angered the chief more or stunned him. His face finally broke into a broad smile.

'Sure you can ask about Old Betsy. She's the pride and joy of the firehouse. What did you want to know about the old girl?'

'I was wondering if we could borrow her...'

'Borrow, Old Betsy? What on earth would you want to borrow her for?'

Sam swallowed. 'We wondered if...'

'Who is this "we"?'

'Annabelle and myself; we wondered if we could borrow her for a charity event.'

'What kind of charity event?'

This was awkward; it occurred to Sam that he didn't even know what charity the event was for. He needed to give the chief an answer without jeopardising the use of the fire truck. He thought it was best to play dumb, for now.

'Annabelle has all the details about it, but I just thought I would ask as you were here.'

'I will consult Annabelle about it, but if I find out it's for those homeless bums you can forget it.'

The chief carried on down the stairs leaving Sam wondering how he was going to make this leap work in his favour.

...

'You have been instrumental in the organisation of the work for the homeless shelter, Mr Carrington.'

Sam and Annabelle had driven to a diner across town to meet up with Sister Mary Angela, a young nun who had been trying to find a way to raise funds for a homeless shelter in the area. It was a worthwhile cause in Sam's eyes, as it must have been in Lyle Carrington's.

'I am happy to help such a worthy cause, Sister.'

'Did you ask daddy about Old Betsy?' asked Annabelle.

'I did ask him, but I don't think he was too enthusiastic about lending her to us. He seems to think that "our" cause is not worth his time or the time of his precious firehouse.'

Sister Mary Angela frowned.

'You leave daddy to me, we will get Old Betsy, by hook or by crook.'

'I wouldn't want you to get into any trouble, Miss Carson. There are always other ways to obtain funds.'

'We'll get her,' Annabelle said flatly.

'It doesn't make much difference if you get her or not,' said the familiar voice behind Sam. 'You need to go the little holograms room, Sam?'

'Excuse me a moment.'

Sam left the table and wound his way through the other tables to the bathroom in back of the diner. As he entered he found Al pacing the room.

'What do you mean it doesn't matter? She is doing good work, Al.'

'There have been developments, Sam. The trouble keeps coming on this one.'

'I can tell you one thing that is working in our favour: Tony has been kicked out of training. That means there is no way he's going to die in a fire now.'

Al didn't seem too happy about the news.

'Or are you here to tell me that I have to keep him in training too?'

'It's worse than that, Sam,' said Al, tapping some buttons on the handlink.

'This is already a nightmare leap, Al. How can it get any worse?'

'Because Tony is still going to die in that fire...and...'

'What is it, Al? What are you not telling me?'

'It's not only Tony that dies in that fire...Sister Mary Angela dies too!'


	3. Chapter 3

Although every leap was like trying to piece together a jigsaw puzzle without a picture to go by, this time was different; this time there was no picture to go by and half the pieces were missing. Sam was trying to work it all out in his head. If he could stop Tony and Sister Mary Angela going to wherever the fire broke out then that was half his problems sorted in one go.

'Where do they die, Al?'

Al referred to the handlink.

'It says the fire broke out at a disused office block. There was no clue as to how it started, but two people died...we know who they are.'

'What would Tony and Sister Mary Angela be doing together in a disused office block?'

'You don't think she broke her vows, do you Sam?'

'I've only just met her but I think her main focus is the homeless shelter, not pursuing a relationship with a trainee fire fighter. Where was the shelter opened?'

'There is no information about a homeless shelter opening around here. Maybe it died along with Sister Mary Angela.'

'I'd better be getting back, Al. Try and dig anything up on the office block where the fire broke out and I'll ask Sister Mary Angela where she intends to open the shelter. That might give us some kind of lead on where to look for further information on this mess.'

'Ok, Sam, I'll try my best.'

As Al disappeared through the holo-imaging chamber door Sam sighed, 'I hope your best is good enough, Al'

...

When Sam returned to the table he found Sister Mary Angela having an animated conversation with Annabelle. Her enthusiasm for the cause she so believed in made Sam make himself a mental promise: no matter what happened during this leap; whatever trials these next few days held, he would see Sister Mary Angela's vision become a reality...one way or another.

'Where have you been?' asked Annabelle.

'I bumped into an old friend,' replied Sam, knowing that at least half of the lie was true. 'We got talking; you know how it is when you haven't seen someone for a while.'

'We have been talking too,' said Sister Mary Angela, holding out a list for Sam to read. 'That is a list of everything we needed for the charity fun day; catering, entertainment and the like.'

'It has all been donated by various businesses in the district,' said Annabelle. 'The last thing on the list was Old Betsy and when I speak to daddy later that will be ticked off too.'

'We're so close to reaching our financial target, which will go towards buying the building and completion of the decorating and furnishings. I am so happy to see it finally taking shape. This final event will be the shelters crowning achievement and it is largely down to your charitable deeds, Mr Carrington.'

'Lyle is quite a guy,' said Annabelle, taking Sam's hand and squeezing it gently.

 _He sure is_ , thought Sam

...

The three of them stood outside the diner exchanging goodbyes when they were approached by a man dressed in dirty clothing carrying a faded and torn backpack. He went straight up to Sister Mary Angela.

'Good Evening, Sister,' he said, placing the backpack at his feet.

A smile spread across the nun's face as she held a hand out to shake his.

'Ollie, it's so good to see you. We were getting worried about you. Where have you been?'

'A friend was kind enough to put me up for a couple of days. I couldn't say no to a warm bed.'

'I'm happy you found somewhere to stay. Oh, where are my manners; this is Lyle Carrington who is helping us raise the money for the shelter; and this is Annabelle Carson, his partner.'

Ollie shook Sam's hand but suddenly stopped when he heard the name _Annabelle Carson_ ; it seemed to have struck a nerve with him. He turned to Annabelle and extended his hand. She took it all the while staring into his eyes. She looked in shock at the appearance of the man standing before her.

 _Could he be an ex-boyfriend?_ thought Sam. Even though he was a number of years older than her, it was a distinct possibility. Sam decided to take the plunge because he needed all the information he could get.

'Do you two know each other?' he asked.

Annabelle was the first to come back to reality and introduced the homeless man.

'This is Ollie Stone. He used to work with Daddy at the firehouse.'

'That was almost ten years ago,' said Ollie, taking Sam's hand. 'It's a pleasure to meet you, Lyle.'

'Likewise,' replied Sam.

'What are you doing on the streets, Ollie,' asked Annabelle.

'It's a long story,' said Ollie, trying to deflect the question.

'We have time to hear it,' said Sam, opening the door of the diner, 'Maybe over a cup of coffee?'

'I sure could use some,' said Ollie, giving a slight shiver.

'Will you join us, Sister?'

'I have to be getting back. Thank you again, Mr Carrington, for all you have done.'

'Don't you worry about _Old Betsy_ either, Sister,' said Annabelle, sternly. 'By hook or by crook...'

As the nun drove off in her car Sam, Annabelle and Ollie nestled themselves into a booth and ordered coffee. Ollie declined the offer of a hot meal saying that he had been given something before leaving his friends place.

'So, what's this long story about you being homeless?' asked Annabelle, taking a sip from her cup.

'It was around two years ago that I lost my job as fire chief, budget cuts was the reason I was told. The local authorities had to trim every penny they could to try and combat over spending. I can tell you that they were not over spending at my firehouse. We were working with a skeleton crew as it was; double shifts and mandatory overtime had become a daily occurrence.'

'Daddy never mentioned any budget cuts at our station.'

'I don't suppose he would have, considering that the week after my firehouse closed its doors the land was sold to a developer so they could turn it into apartment blocks. We were in the way, is all.'

'That's terrible,' said Sam. 'Could you have taken it further, maybe gone to city hall about it?'

'Did you ever try to fight city hall? You may as well be trying to push the empire state building over with your bare hands.'

'They didn't offer you a position in another firehouse?' asked Annabelle.

'Not a chance. We were now surplus to requirements and that meant they would save a bundle on salaries with us gone and make a small fortune on the land deal.'

'Why didn't you come and see Daddy? He would have found you something at his firehouse.'

'Like your father I am a proud man. I couldn't...wouldn't go on bended knee and beg for charity, not when it came to my job. Could you see him doing something like that if he lost his job?'

'I see what you mean. Daddy would rather die than lose his job.'

'If I was alone at the time I would have died. It was only the fact that my dear Emily was in hospital at the time stopped me from doing anything foolish.'

'How is she now?'

Ollie turned away and gave a deep sigh, 'She passed away a couple of months after the firehouse closed.'

'I'm so sorry,' said Annabelle, putting her arm around Ollie.

'That's why you find me here like this today. After I lost my job I couldn't keep up with her hospital bills. I had to sell the house and use that money until I found something else. I managed to find a one room apartment so I had a roof over my head and found a part time job at a local grocery store. I wasn't too proud to take anything that came along, as long as I could keep Emily's treatment going. I still owe for her funeral and the hospital bills are in the thousands.'

'What about your job at the grocery store?' asked Sam.

'It wasn't paying enough to cover my rent let alone the extra I needed for my wife. I tried asking my boss for an advance and his answer was to sack me. I tried applying for loans at our bank which fell on deaf ears. They said that our bank account was empty and with the house gone I had no collateral to put up for a loan. I realized one thing at that moment: you can only get a loan if you can prove you don't need the money.'

'And you lost your apartment because you couldn't pay the rent?'

'You got it. It has been vicious circle since losing my job at the station. So many times I contemplated doing something drastic; thinking of ways to get back at those people who put me where I am. Then I met Sister Mary Angela...and I found a new direction in life. I made the decision to help other people who had been abandoned by society and make sure that they never had to suffer as I had.'

Annabelle wiped away her tears with the back of her hand as Sam handed her a napkin from the dispenser on the table. Even he was trying to hold back a tear as Ollie told his story. This was it. Sam was so sure. He finally understood why he was here and when Al came back he would no doubt have his hunch confirmed.

...

'The answer is still no, Mr Carrington,' said Chief Carson, not even giving Sam the dignity or respect to look up from the papers he was working on. 'Old Betsy is not some kind of plaything for children to scuff and scratch as they climb all over her. She deserves to be respected for the service she gave to this great city.'

'Don't you see, Chief,' said Sam leaning forward onto the desk.

'I see an ungrateful trainee that doesn't know the meaning of respect when it comes to his chief and the possessions of this firehouse.'

'It's for a good cause,' said Annabelle, taking a few steps into the room. 'Do you remember Ollie Stone?'

'Stone? Yes, he was a good man and a top rate fire fighter.'

'And he's homeless,' cried Annabelle, hoping that this statement would somehow move her father to change his mind on the matter. Sadly, it moved him even further away from agreeing.

'If Oliver Stone lost his job, it must have been for a good reason,' said Chief Carson, pulling some more papers across his desk.

'He lost his job because there wasn't enough money in the city budget to keep his firehouse open,' said Sam. 'In fact, you're quite lucky, Chief. What would have happened if they had decided to close this firehouse instead?'

Chief Carson's eyes became dark as he slowly lifted his head and looked Sam straight in the eyes. 'Close this firehouse?' he spluttered. 'There would be no reason for them to close me down. I run one of the most efficient firehouses in the country and _they_ know that.'

'Why won't you listen to us?' said Sam, slamming his fist down on the desk. His patience was beginning to wear thin where the chief was concerned. Chief Carson's eyes narrowed as he slowly lifted himself from his chair and leaned forward on his desk, his face inches from Sam's.

'Who do you think you are?' he asked.

'I'm just one man,' replied Sam, 'one man who happens to care about people and things other than this damn firehouse.'

'How dare...'

'Yes, I do dare. You sit behind this desk like some kind of king ruling over his kingdom, thinking that your word is law and that no one else has any say where you are concerned. Well, _Chief_ Carson, it's about time you started to listen to someone else for a change. You might even learn to understand other people's feelings. How long has it been since you've actually listened to anything Annabelle has said to you? When did you last let her have an opinion on anything?'

'STOP!' called out that familiar voice behind Sam. 'Sam, you have to stop this. Ziggy says that your chances of completing this leap are taking a pretty steep nose dive.'

Sam continued his rant as if he hadn't heard a word that Al had said.

'You won't help an old friend who is down on his luck; you insist on pushing the trainees around to make yourself feel superior and...'

'Sam, Ziggy says thirty four percent...twenty six percent...nineteen percent...'

'...you treat your daughter like a second class person,' finished Sam.

'Eleven percent,' continued Al.

'I have been waiting for this day since you came into my daughter's life. I thank you for making this so easy for me, Mr Carrington.'

'Five point one percent.'

'You are no longer a trainee here. I want you off of the premises right now or I will call the police and have you forcibly removed.'

'That's just fine by me,' said Sam, turning to leave. 'Come on, Annabelle.'

'Stay where you are, girl,' said the chief, fixing Annabelle with a warning glare. She seemed unsure at first of who to listen too. Finally she conceded to her fathers demands. 'You see, Mr Carrington, Annabelle knows how to show me the respect I deserve. Please don't try to contact her again.'

'Zero,' said Al, as Sam walked out of the door. 'Sam, what have you done?'


End file.
